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Pavement surface condition rating is an essential part of road infrastructure maintenance and asset management, and it is performed manually by the data analyst. The manual rating requires cognitive skills built through training and experience, which is quantitatively challenging and timeconsuming. This paper first analyses the complexity of the current manual visual rating system. This paper then investigates the suitability and robustness of a state-of-the-art convolutional neural network (CNN) classifier to automate the pavement surface condition index (PSCI) system used to rate pavement surfaces in Ireland. The dataset contains 3735 images of flexible asphalt pavements from Irish urban and rural environments taken from a video camera mounted in front of a van. The PSCI ratings were applied by experts using a scale of 1-10 to indicate surface conditions. The classification models are evaluated for different input pre-processing variations, image size, learning techniques, and the number of classes. Using 10 PSCI classes, the best classifier achieved a precision of 57% and a recall of 58%. Adjacent combination of classes (e.g., ratings 1 and 2 combined into a single class) to form a 5-class problem produced a classifier with a precision of 70% and recall of 77%. Given the complexity of the problem, classification using CNN holds promise as a first step towards an automated ranking system.

Nanomaterials possess a wide range of potential applications due to their novel properties compared to bulk matter, but these same properties may represent an unknown risk to health. Experimental safety testing cannot keep pace with the rate at which new nanoparticles are developed and, being lengthy and expensive, often hinders the development of technology. An economic alternative to in vitro and in vivo testing is offered by nanoinformatics, potentially enabling the quantitative relation of the nanomaterial properties to their crucial biological activities. Recent research efforts have demonstrated that such activities can be successfully predicted from the physicochemical characteristics of nanoparticles, especially those related to the bionano interface, by means of statistical models. In this work, as a step towards in silico prediction of toxicity of nanomaterials, an advanced computational characterization of these materials has been proposed and applied to titanium dioxide nanoparticles. The characteristics of nanoparticles and bionano interface are computed using a systematic multiscale approach relying only on information on chemistry and structure of the nanoparticles., Comment: Data tables available on request

Introduction: The success of rural longitudinal integrated clerkship (LIC) programs has contributed to our understanding of selecting and training students for rural practice. Studies have explored the personality traits of students who participate in rural LICs although few have compared them with classmates who have not. The purpose is to compare personalities of four successive cohorts of students in the LIC Rural Physician Associate Program (RPAP) with their non-RPAP classmates. Methods: In a longitudinal cross-sectional design, medical students RPAP and non-RPAP, from 2013 to 2017 completed identical questionnaires comprising measures of personality, perfectionism, ambiguity tolerance, and resilience. T-tests, ANOVA, and post-hoc tests compared groups. K-means cluster analysis identified profiles of traits. Results: Total sample 286; RPAP = 128; non-RPAP = 158. Gender and age proportions were not different between groups. RPAP students were significantly lower in levels of perfectionism and higher in cooperativeness compared to non-RPAP classmates. Similar proportions of both groups were distributed across three personality profiles detected. Conclusions: Lower perfectionism implies advantages for rural practice. Nevertheless, similarities between groups suggest that most students would be successful in rural practice. More encouragement to all students may improve uptake of rural LICs. Greater attention to issues that affect decisions to explore rural medical education, particularly for our next generation of students, is required.

The aim of this article is to propose a Java concurrent program for theSmarandache fimction based on an equation.Some results concerning the theoretical complexity of this program are proposed. Finally,the experimental results of the sequential and Java programs are given in order todemonstrate the efficiency of the conament implementation.

Survey Questions. Additional file is a complete list of survey questions and responses answered by participants. (DOCX 15Â kb)

This report examines the role of the textbook and training manual in the teaching of introductory financial accounting. Although it has long been recognised that the textbook plays an important role in the education process, the issue has not been systematically examined in a comprehensive manner with respect to the teaching of introductory financial accounting. Based on research carried out in 2005, the current report addresses this issue. It does so using a research framework proposed by Thompson (1990) which recommends a comprehensive approach to the understanding of texts involving three separate aspects: the production of the textbook/training manual; the content of the textbook/training manual; the usage of the textbook/training manual.

Survey Questions. Additional file is a complete list of survey questions and responses answered by participants. (DOCX 15Â kb)

Studies have shown that religious beliefs and practice play an important role in influencing share price behaviour. Evidence of a Ramadan effect has been documented in Muslim countries suggesting an increase in mean returns as well as a reduction in volatility during the ninth month of the Islamic calendar. In addition to the Ramadan effect, studies have also documented a January effect in Muslim countries. The current study investigates what happens when the Ramadan effect and the January effect occur at the same time. Controlling for the effects of financial crises and time-varying volatility in returns, the results for individual company data from four countries with sizeable Muslim populations indicate higher returns and lower volatility when these two effects overlap, except in one, arguably more Western country, Turkey. Refereed/Peer-reviewed